1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to security systems for discrete articles and, more particularly, to a tethering system for connecting an article to be secured relative to a support.
2. Background Art
The overwhelming trend in designing point of purchase displays has been to make articles displayed thereat available to be picked up and operated by consumers. One can witness, at virtually any store at which electronics are sold, a wide range of articles that are conveniently displayed for trial. These articles vary considerably in terms of their size and configuration. At one end of the size spectrum are articles such as PDA's, cellular telephones, digital music players, etc. At the other end of the spectrum are televisions, which have been designed with increasingly greater picture areas and smaller housings. This electronic technology continues to evolve with new products of increasing sophistication regularly offered to consumers. These electronic products, by reason of their sophistication, are generally expensive in nature and an inviting target for thieves. The sophistication of thieves has presented to the security industry a substantial challenge to avoid the unauthorized removal of not only very compact articles, but even large articles, such as televisions.
The industry has responded to the theft challenge by developing security systems that range from basic mechanical systems to sophisticated electromechanical systems. One of the most common security systems utilizes a flexible tether that is connected between a support and an article to be secured. The tethers allow the associated article to be picked up, inspected, and potentially operated within a predetermined range, as dictated by the effective length of the tether. Toward the end of wire management, some systems utilize a tether that can be withdrawn into a housing. The Assignee herein currently offers products with this capability with both a purely mechanical tether and an electromechanical tether, as shown respectively in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,246,183 and Re. 37,590.
One challenge to the security industry has been to devise an effective means for attaching the tether to the particular article that is being secured. One form of connection is what is termed a “lasso” connector formed using an elongate, flexible element. The elongate flexible element is formed into a restrictable loop. The “loop” may extend through a surrounded opening associated with the article, such as a finger opening around an operating trigger on a hand tool. Alternatively, the lasso can be restricted around a necked portion of an article, such as on a computer component, a television, or the like.
While the lasso connector has been widely used in several different forms in the security industry, purveyors thereof continue to seek out lasso designs that offer affordability, and ease of operation. Of course, the overall goal of these systems is that they be reliable once installed.